Editor's note: My son was one of the first patient's diagnosed with autism to be evaluated with the MEG technology for epileptic seizures in the 1990's. As the article states, "MEG technology also has been used to map brain tumors and to evaluate epilepsy. Dr. James McPartland, a Yale University autism researcher said a few previous studies have used MEG and related technology to study other aspects of autism, but with inconsistent results." I will attest to this statement as the study for epileptic seizures was inconclusive.

Autism fears lead some parents to not immunize childrenFear that shots cause autism leads some to wait or forgo them

Trained as a physical therapist and married to a pharmacist, Julie Funk did not question the routine vaccinations that doctors gave her son Jason. But just before his second birthday, Jason was diagnosed with autism.

And Funk, who lives in the Castleton [Indiana] area, started to question the safety of vaccines. Like many in the autism community, she had heard the debate over whether vaccinations contribute to or even cause autism, an increasingly common neurological disorder.

"I don't believe there's a need for it when they're so young," she said. "I think vaccinations are very important, but they're giving too many to little babies."

When Funk's daughter was born in October of last year, she opted against vaccination. Allison showed no signs of autism, and Funk said she wasn't taking any chances.

Around the country, there is debate over what role, if any, vaccinations play in autism, and many parents are deciding against immunizations.

Below, I share two dozen recent headlines and news stories [about vaccinations]. To me, this is what they say:

1) Existing and emerging science about vaccination says caution should be the order of the day.
2) Bloated state deficits and skyrocketing special ed spending further support the wisdom of caution.
3) Anyone with a conflict of interest must be investigated.
4) Parents are concerned. Their children are sick. Listen to them.
5) Instead of cram downs and vaccine mandates, doctors better figure out how to align themselves with parents. Because they are en route to losing their livelihood along with the very thing they so dearly want to avoid… a dismantling of the entire childhood vaccination program. If parents believe the current formulation and protocol of vaccines are not safe, they will not vaccinate their children. Period.
6) When natural market forces don’t produce the desired result, legislation is passed to get us to do what they want… mandate shots, track whether we get them, challenge our right to legitimate vaccine exemptions, restrict our access to supplements and alternative health care.
7) Blind trust is misplaced and we are on our own.

"We have more power than we realize. We have the power to stop going to doctors who make us uncomfortable and force us to do things which violate our intuition and our own research. We have the power to vote for legislators and a governor who are not beholden, who don’t take pharma money, who listen to their voters." —Louise Kuo Habakus

About Louise Kuo Habakus - Louise organized the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (http://www.njvaccinationchoice.org). She recently received her board-certification in integrative nutrition last year and started a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in New Jersey.She is completing her certification in homotoxicology, the science of disease processes which unites the centuries’ old principles of homeopathy with our latest understanding of molecular biology, biochemistry and the realities of transgenerational and current day toxin loading. Beginning next year, she will be working with New Jersey’s leading medical doctor in the area of pediatric integrative medicine.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines:

My name is Barbara Loe Fisher and I am co-founder and president of the non-profit organization known today as the National Vaccine Information Center that worked with Congress on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which included the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) for which this Advisory Commission has provided guidance for the past 20 years. Along with our organization’s first president, environmental law attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, who was a principal co-architect of the Act, NVIC co-founder Kathi Williams and I were all parents of DPT vaccine injured children. We participated in four years of deliberations with congressional staff, representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), vaccine manufacturers, and the Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Justice.

The Vaccine Injury Act included in Title 3 of Public Law 99-660 was historic for several reasons.

Tampa, Florida - When doctors diagnosed Parker Nelson with autism, he was just 15 months old.

"...while the data and success rate on a biomedical approach may be limited, he has seen children recover."
—Pediatrician Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, IBCLC

His mother, Constance Cabrera, described him as non-verbal. "He was making big circles in his room and making awful humming sounds," she said.

The doctors recommended speech therapy, but told her that he would most likely need constant care for the rest of her life.

Instead, she sought out more tests, doctors and holistic treatments that sent her searching the country, and the Internet. "These kids are combination locks. You have to get the right combination, you have to hit them through every angle," she said.

What if USAAA earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our USAAA? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to USAAA! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting USAAA.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter US Autism and Asperger Association as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!

Send us your story about your experience with autism and Asperger's Syndrome on a specific topic each week. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, caregiver, individual with autism or have any experience with autism spectrum disorders, your stories help provide insight into the world of autism.

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